Homeward State: A prodigal son takes on a hometown job

[DrMcAwesome]

Behind Huggins, Penn State sinks Cleveland State in Smead's debut
Nov. 16, 2021

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WS) – On a night when 12 different Penn State players scored at least two points, it was a 10-point run by center Mickey Huggins that gave the Nittany Lions the necessary spark to turn Wednesday’s opener with Cleveland State into a blowout.
Huggins, on six offensive trips, tallied four dunks and a layup to run Penn State’s 13-point lead over the Vikings to a 23-point bulge. The Nittany Lions cruised the rest of the way, giving coach Elijah Smead a 108-68 win in his collegiate coaching debut.
While Penn State struggled to find its offensive rhythm at times during the first half, as indicated by three shot clock violations, the Nittany Lions were deadly from the floor when they got a shot off, going 20 of 26 against an undersized Vikings lineup.
Huggins’ 16 points were a key factor in keeping Penn State on top against the Vikings. He only missed one shot from the floor, going 13 of 14 while also sinking both of his free throws.
“Mickey was hard for them to stop,” Smead said. “We challenged him to not only guard their best guy in Matt Best, but to also keep him working on defense when they went man. Mickey got him in some foul trouble late in the first half and then feasted in the second half when they had to go even smaller.”
With Joel Black giving up six inches to Huggins in man-to-man sets, Huggins’ asserted his will during his personal 10-0 run, which capped a 16-4 Penn State outburst to start the second half. A two-handed dunk, with an assist from Mack Marlow, made it 64-41 while sending the all-student crowd at Bryce Jordan Center into a tizzy.
“It won’t be that easy every night,” Huggins said. “Tonight, it was the opener. We had a bunch of students in the building. We were able to weather an early storm and just play our way until we buried them.”
It was another senior who kept adding nails to the Cleveland State coffin, much to the delight of the remaining Penn State faithful. Forward Isaac Slocum, despite playing just 11 minutes, ripped the Vikings for 23 points while hitting seven 3-pointers in garbage time.
“I didn’t see an issue with it,” Smead said. “They were still running a tempo offense and kept their starting five in until about 2-3 minutes to go. Isaac was hitting his bombs against their starters.”
The 6-foot-8 forward notched a career-best with his 23-point outburst on Wednesday.
“Coach wants the hot hand to keep getting the ball,” Slocum explained.
As Smead noted, establishing his rotation for key games will come with nights where the Nittany Lions keep their foot on the gas pedal.
“I can only give out 200 minutes and there are 13 guys in uniform who deserve at least some of that pie,” Smead said. “If that means that I have to let a bench guy go on a scoring spree to see what he has, it’s what needs to be done. I’m not going to run up the score with my starters, but I can’t tell my bench to not try. I’m sure we’ll take a few like this one, but we need to keep everyone feeling good when we can.
“Cleveland State will be fine. They’re a tough team in a tough league. They’ll be much better than what a 40-point loss tells the world.”
Penn State held a 29-23 edge in rebounding while dishing out 30 assists to the Vikings’ 18. Darius Rawlinsg (12 points) and Jason Williams (11) scored in double figures for the Nittany Lions.
Best, who only played 15 minutes because of foul trouble, led the Vikings with 18 points. Black poured in 11 points from the bench while Courtney Meliet added 10.

[DrMcAwesome]

Despite foul trouble, Penn State lashes Louisiana Tech in Maui
Nov. 18, 2021

LAHAINA, Hawaii (WS) – During Thursday’s opening-round game of the Maui Invitational, the Penn State Nittany Lions accomplished something that Elijah Smead had never witnessed at any level of basketball that he had been involved in.
While slogging their way through the first half against Louisiana Tech, the Nittany Lions were whistled for 10 fouls over the first 7:01.
While Penn State’s bench eventually righted the ship to help build a 12-point lead on the way to an 85-65 win over the Bulldogs, Smead was still frustrated with anyone in a white uniform, or in stripes.
“I certainly think that the group on the whistle was a bit eager to call fouls, but we didn’t help matters,” Smead said. “Lots of reaches. Lots of step-behind calls. The stuff that punishes a lazy team. Was it to the point where we should have had 10 fouls on the board before they blew anything on (Louisiana) Tech? I have my opinions, but I also like keeping my salary as intact as possible.”
Penn State (2-0) advances to face Arkansas in one of Friday’s semifinal games, the Razorbacks dispatched St. Joseph’s 90-63 late Thursday.
After trading the lead six times over the first 9 minutes, the Nittany Lions went ahead to stay when Toby Collins was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit two of his three free throws to put the Big Ten squad up 20-19. A Mack Marlow 3-pointer and a dunk from Collins helped Penn State build a 27-19 bulge with a Greg Guyton making it 30-24 with 8:04 left in the half.
Another 3-pointer by Marlow, who had 14 points while going 4-for-5 from behind the arc, followed by a Mickey Huggins dunk allowed Penn State to push its lead to 39-25 with just over 4 minutes left in the half.
Trailing 47-35 at intermission, Louisiana Tech scored a pair of quick buckets on its first two possessions with a Bryan Wilkes dunk off a feed from Ryan Hammick slicing the Penn State lead to eight points.
Jason Williams, who netted 13 points, answered with a 3-pointer on Penn State’s next trip down the floor to trigger a 16-1 run that effectively buried the Bulldogs.
“Those 16 points came in about 8 minutes, so it wasn’t some kind of rapid run,” Smead said. “We just got stops on defense and played a steady pace on offense. We worked the ball a bunch and had two guys on the floor with the green light to hit open 3s. We ran a lot of 1-4 sets to force their zone to break or leave a guy open in the post. Funny how shooters get forgotten in those defensive scrambles. By the time that they switched to man, the damage was done.”
Williams and Isaac Slocum each hit two 3-pointers during the rampage, which was punctuated by a Huggins dunk.
Huggins, one of three Penn State starters who missed significant time during the first half while in foul trouble, scored 15 to share the team-high with Slocum, who again provided a scoring punch off the bench,
Wilkes’ 17 points led the Bulldogs, who did have four scorers reach double figures.

[Wayne23]

"Get some rope
Find a tree.
Let's go hang
The referee!"

This was a common chant at hoops games decades ago. Now you'd be arrested for it.

[DrMcAwesome]

"Get some rope
Find a tree.
Let's go hang
The referee!"

This was a common chant at hoops games decades ago. Now you'd be arrested for it.

Rumor has it that the student section at my alma mater tried that chant once (long before my time in the bleachers) and got a halftime tongue lashing from the admins. By the time that I got to sit in that corner, we’d just yell “I disagree!” or “You’ll get the next one right, Stripes.”

[DrMcAwesome]

Waldman, Arkansas sink cold-shooting Penn State
Nov. 19, 2021

LAHAINA, Hawaii (WS) – When the Arkansas Razorbacks needed a bucket during Friday’s semifinal of the Maui Invitational against Penn State, Alvin Waldman answered the call again and again.
The one time that he deferred that call led to Arkansas going ahead to stay as it topped Penn State 83-79.
The junior forward posted 29 points to go with six assists and six boards, the fifth assist was a slick bounce pass from the high post to O.J. Montague, who sank a 3-pointer from the corner to put Arkansas up 68-66. Within 90 seconds, the Razorbacks (3-0) led 75-66 thanks to a Waldman 3-pointer capping the run.
“We had our issues with the guy wearing 51,” Penn State coach Elijah Smead said. “He had about six points when they went up 8-0 early. Every time that we swung momentum, he was their guy to give an answer.”
The Nittany Lions (2-1) turned the ball over three times in their first three possessions, leading to easy Razorbacks buckets on the other end. A triple by Penn State’s Isaac Slocum knotted the score at 17 with 12:51 left in the first half. After Toby Collins hit one of two free throws to give Penn State an 18-17 lead, Waldman connected on a deep ball from the wing to ignite an 11-4 run.
Penn State clawed back into the lead with Jason Williams’ 3-pointer making it 39-37 and prompting a back-and-forth end to the first half with Waldman’s 3-pointer at the buzzer sending the Razorbacks into the break with a 45-44 lead.
Darius Rawlings’ trey opened an 8-0 run that was halted by a Waldman dunk. A williams triple with 18:33 left in the second half was Penn State’s last field goal until Mack Marlow’s circus shot 4 minutes later.
Penn State’s next make from the floor came with 1:55 remaining when Mickey Huggins put back a Rawlings miss to cut Arkansas’ lead to 77-72.
The Nittany Lions were 22 of 58 from the floor with a 9-of-28 clip from deep. Penn State, capitalizing on an aggressive Razorbacks defense in the half court, stayed close thanks to going 26 of 30 from the free-throw line.
“Hitting 38 percent from the floor is not going to get the job done, especially against Arkansas,” Smead said. “We just couldn’t do much after getting that lead in the second half, and that has a lot to do with their athletes and their defense. We liked a lot of our looks, but (Arkansas) has some excellent speed that turned open looks into contested shots.”
Huggins and Slocum each scored 15 to lead Penn State while Chris Mitchell notched 13 points and 10 rebounds. Rawlings added a dozen on the score sheet while also dishing out a team-high four assists.
Montague tallied 12 points for Arkansas, which faces Arizona State in the invitational championship, while Alex Faust posted 10 more.

[DrMcAwesome]

Penn State survives spirited effort from Tulane
Nov. 23, 2021

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WS) – Maybe it was the long flight from Hawaii with only two days of life back on the mainland that could explain a seemingly disinterested defensive effort from the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second half of Tuesday’s win over Tulane at Bryce Jordan Center.
Then again, maybe the Green Wave are just that good.
Penn State coach Elijah Smead is willing to believe both following his team’s 91-86 nail-biting escape at home.
“I’m embarrassed,” Smead said. “Not so much that Tulane hung with us. Tulane’s a talented group. It’s just that our kids thought that the effort they put forth tonight was going to put that team away. (Tulane was) well-rested and hungry. This game meant a lot more to them than it apparently did to us.
“We battled hard in Hawaii against a team (Arkansas) everyone thinks will make a deep run in March, then we come back home and almost try to give Tulane this win.”
Penn State (3-1) led 86-84 after Morale Duplessis hit a free throw with 46 seconds remaining. Duplessis missed two more free throws 11 seconds later when Steve Carey pulled in an offensive rebound and sent a pass to the key where Penn State’s Mickey Huggins hacked Duplessis on his way up.
Huggins grabbed the defensive board after Duplessis’ miss with a home-run outlet to Darius Rawlings, who knocked down a transition 3-pointer to put Penn State up 89-84 with 29 seconds showing on the clock.
It was welcome distance for Penn State, which led by as much as 14 during the second half.
“Darius hit a bomb for us,” Smead said. “He led us in scoring tonight. He was a big presence in facilitating offense as much as he was in being a scorer. A senior effort from him on a night where we needed someone to step up as a leader.”
Rawlings had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead Penn State in both categories. Huggins scored 14 while also pulling down eight boards while sending seven Green Wave shots away. Penn State totaled 13 blocks, but rarely converted the rejections into anything more than allowing second-chance points to the Green Wave.
Duplessis led all scorers with 27 points while Tulane teammate Shawn Goldwire notched 25. Jonathan Criddle added 11 for the Green Wave (1-1).
Penn State had built a lead of 14 points during the first half, going up 46-32 on a rare inside shot by Isaac Slocum, who scored 12 points with 11 coming during the first half.
The Nittany Lions were 20 of 35 from the floor over the first 20 minutes but saw their marksmanship taper off during the second half going 14 of 32 while Tulane cranked up its intensity on defense.
“We had tape of the Army game,” Smead said. “We were well aware that this was a team that makes its bread by being a better-conditioned group in the second half. Holding Army to 22 points after scoring 47 in the first half is the evidence. I’m sure coming back from Hawaii played a part in our legs getting a bit soft in the second half, but we can’t be outplayed like we were. That’s on the coaches. We have to make them better in those situations.”

[DrMcAwesome]

St. Joseph's edges Penn State in thriller
Nov. 26, 2021

PHILADELPHIA (WS) – As late as just over 4 minutes into the second half, Penn State held a 20-point lead over host St. Joseph’s on Friday at Hagan Arena.
The Nittany Lions did not exit Philadelphia with a victory.
Mario Baxter’s turnaround jumper over Penn State’s Isaac Slocum with 15 seconds left gave the Hawks a two-point lead. Slocum then missed two of three free-throw attempts after Baxter’s ill-advised foul, allowing the hosts to escape with a 97-96 victory.
Penn State (3-2) and St. Joseph’s (3-1) battled to 10 ties and exchanged the lead 17 times while producing one of the most thrilling games in the historic series between the two in-state rivals.
That fact was not pacifying Penn State coach Elijah Smead in his post-game comments.
“I’m sure that it was exciting TV, but this was a game we needed to win,” Smead said. “This is the time to build an argument for playing in March and this is the type of game that gets listed as a key loss. Credit St. Joseph’s, because they finished. We were on fire in the first half, then we felt that was good enough.”
It felt like the Nittany Lions couldn’t miss during the first half as the Big Ten squad hit its first five 3-pointers on its way to an 11-of-14 clip from deep. Forward Isaac Slocum hit six 3-pointers on his way to 20 points over the first 20 minutes as Penn State led 55-40.
Slocum added just two more points to his total during the second half while not attempting a shot from the floor until the final seconds.
“Ike’s gotta take command when he’s hitting shots like that,” Smead said. “He had a ton of open looks, but just didn’t put the ball up. It really sucks because he was having an all-time performance and just wilted.”
Early in the second half, Penn State went up 65-45 on a Mack Marlow trey, the Hawks then whittled away at the advantage until Tremaine Edney’s 3-pointer pushed the hosts in front for the first time since they held a 34-32 lead with 6:11 left in the first half.
Penn State saw four scorers in double figures with Mickey Huggins (21), Gregory Guyton (11) and Darius Rawlings (10) following Slocum’s lead.
Shane Daniels’ 18 led the Hawks while Baxter notched 14, Alvin Gibbs tallied 13, Edney scored 12, and Tyris Holst pitched in 11.